1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of imaging devices and, more specifically, to the field of data entry into such imaging devices.
2. State of the Art
Imaging devices, such as printers, copiers, scanners, facsimile machines, and the like, have generally and frequently been thought of as output devices which are typically controlled by an attached computer or other control device. For example, a printer is generally coupled to a computer which serves as the user interface device for the printer system. Likewise, copiers have generally lacked a sophisticated user interface and even more so, a sophisticated data input mechanism. As such, any sophisticated form of interface with these devices was generally retained at a remote location such as at an attached or networked controlling system, such as a computer.
As imaging devices became more complex, imaging devices assimilated simplified user interfaces at the device itself. Such interfaces took the form of displays that issued error codes or status and further included buttons for performing elementary control, such as reset, operations. Additionally, some imaging devices such as copiers and facsimile devices integrated numeric keypads allowing the user to input a print quantity, dialing sequence or other numeric value. As imaging devices have become more sophisticated, there is an increased need to provide a more efficient user-friendly and user-accustomed interface at the device itself.
FIG. 1 illustrates the coupling of an imaging device, such as a printer, copier, facsimile machine, scanner device, and the like, which is used for the processing, namely, printing, copying, scanning, or other print application or printed material analysis, of a target media to a keyboard. Those familiar with imaging devices 10 appreciate that such devices have become increasingly complex and sophisticated and therefore require not only extensive configuration, but may also require some forms of data input. For limited amounts of data entry, a control panel such as a keypad 12 may be sufficient. However, for any significant amount of user input data, a more ergonomic or user-friendly interface and entry mechanism is desirable. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art configuration coupling a keyboard 14 to an imaging device 10 by utilizing the freestanding capabilities of keyboard 14. Because of the lack of spatial relationship between keyboard 14 and any display mechanism associated with imaging device 10, such data entry technique is limited in both efficient data input as well as ergonomic desirability. Therefore, there exists a need to provide a more usable data-entry configuration for use directly at an imaging device that facilitates both an efficient and user-accustomed input device as well as an ergonomic and usably efficient association with an imaging device display.